TANZANIA : TANZANIA will receive another passenger plane, make Boeing 737- MAX9 today as continuation of the government's efforts to transform air transport and propel the economic growth.
The statement was made by the Minister for Transport, Professor Makame Mbarawa in a press conference held in Dar es Salaam, where he said the ceremony will be held at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA).
He said the addition of state- of- the- art passenger plane will bolster efficiency of the Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL), in serving more regions across the country and beyond the borders.
Prof Mbarawa said the reception of the Boeing 737-MAX9 will be undertaken along inauguration of two planes which will be used by the National Institute of Transport (NIT) in practical training for students pursuing pilot courses, as the country aims at having more local experts to run the country airlines.
Highlighting the details of the Boeing 737-MAX9 with the capacity to carry six tonnes of cargoes and fly eight hours nonstop, he said the new plane will be utilised for medium-haul routes and carry 181 passengers, where 165 will be in the economy class and 16 in business.
The government-owned airline has so far, a fleet of 13 aircrafts; one Dash 8-Q300, five Dash 8-Q400, four Airbus A220-300, two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and one Boeing 767-300F (Cargo Freighter).
Apart from the Boeing 737 Max 9, ATCL expects to add to its fleet; one more Boeing 737 Max - 9 and one Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner by March 2024.
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ATCL maintains its position as the leading airline in Tanzania, providing extensive domestic and international connectivity with over 120 weekly flights to more than 15 destinations.
Air Tanzania currently operates more than ten domestic destinations from Dar es Salaam hub, namely Dodoma, Kilimanjaro, Kigoma, Mpanda, Geita, Mbeya, Mtwara, Mwanza, Bukoba, Songea, Tabora, Iringa, Arusha and Zanzibar.
Beyond the borders, ATCL operates to Mumbai (India), Lubumbashi (DRC), Nairobi (Kenya), Hahaya (Comoros), Ndola and Lusaka (Zambia), Harare (Zimbabwe), Bujumbura (Burundi), Entebbe (Uganda).
Soon they expect to add more routes to cater for Dzaoudzi (Mayotte), Dubai (UAE), Juba (Southern Sudan), Johannesburg (South Africa), Lagos (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana) and London (United Kingdom).
In 2016, the government took a bold decision to revive ATCL by reforming its management, procuring of new planes and expansion of airports to keep pace with the market demand.
In a related development, Prof Mbarawa said Tanzania is endowed with abundant fascinating tourists' attractions including beautiful beaches and National Parks that require stable country's airlines to handle tourists' movements.
In improving ATCL services delivery, Prof Mbarawa said the government commits on improving services by integrating the company with latest technologies to enable instant communication between service providers and the customers in accompanying the operation of the planes.
"The government is adding new plane to reduce delays of flight, we are working ambitiously to modernise ATCL by catching up with customers' demands," Prof Mbarawa pointed out.
